*1833 [[Church of Greece]] declares [[autocephaly]], making it independent of the [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]]; death of [[Seraphim of Sarov]].

*1833 [[Church of Greece]] declares [[autocephaly]], making it independent of the [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]]; death of [[Seraphim of Sarov]].

+

*1835 On [[February 2]] the Ecumenical Patriarch [[Constantius II of Constantinople]] (1834-35) celebrating with 12 [[bishop]]s and an enormous flood of the faithful, [[Consecration of a church|consecrated]] the rebuilt [[Church of the Life-Giving Font of the Theotokos (Istanbul)|Church of the Life-Giving Font]] dedicating it to the Most Holy [[Theotokos]].

+

*1838 Oxford theologian Sir [[w:William Palmer (theologian)|William Palmer]] was the principal originator of the heretical [[Branch theory|Branch Theory]], in his two-volume ''Treatise on the Church of Christ.''

*1839 Synod of Polotsk abolishes [[Union of Brest-Litovsk]] in all areas under Russian rule as Greek Catholic dioceses in Lithuania and Belarus re-enter the Orthodox Church (with the exception of the eparchy of Chelm, in Polish territory, which was itself integrated into the Russian Orthodox Church in 1875).

*1839 Synod of Polotsk abolishes [[Union of Brest-Litovsk]] in all areas under Russian rule as Greek Catholic dioceses in Lithuania and Belarus re-enter the Orthodox Church (with the exception of the eparchy of Chelm, in Polish territory, which was itself integrated into the Russian Orthodox Church in 1875).

−

*1840s Correspondence of Anglican William Palmer with [[Alexei Khomakiov]], and [[Philaret of Moscow]] towards establishment of [[Western Rite]] church in England.

+

*1840s Correspondence of Anglican William Palmer with [[Alexei Stepanovich Khomiakov|Alexei Khomakiov]], and [[Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow |Philaret of Moscow]] towards establishment of [[Western Rite]] church in England.

*ca.1840s Emergence of the [[Neo-Byzantine architecture|Neo-Byzantine]] architectural revival style in the Russian Empire and Western Europe.

*ca.1840s Emergence of the [[Neo-Byzantine architecture|Neo-Byzantine]] architectural revival style in the Russian Empire and Western Europe.

*1843-46 Massacre of over 10,000 Assyrian Christians (''Nestorian, Jacobite, Chaldean'') in Tiyare and Hakkari, near Nineveh in Kurdistan, by Beder Khan-bey.

*1843-46 Massacre of over 10,000 Assyrian Christians (''Nestorian, Jacobite, Chaldean'') in Tiyare and Hakkari, near Nineveh in Kurdistan, by Beder Khan-bey.

*1847 Restoration of [[w:Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem|Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem]] by Pope Pius IX; the first Russian Ecclesiastical Mission was sent to Jerusalem.

−

*1848 ''[[Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs]]'' sent by the primates and synods of the four ancient patriarchates of the Orthodox Church, condemning the [[Filioque]] as [[heresy]], declaring the [[Roman Catholic Church]] to be [[heresy|heretical]], [[schism]]atic, and in [[apostasy]], repudiating [[Ultramontanism]] and referring to the Photian Council of 879-880 as the "[[Eighth Ecumenical Council]]."

+

*1848 ''[[Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs]]'' sent by the primates and synods of the four ancient patriarchates of the Orthodox Church, condemning the [[Filioque]] as [[heresy]], declaring the [[Roman Catholic Church]] to be [[heresy|heretical]], [[schism]]atic, and in [[apostasy]], repudiating [[Ultramontanism]] and referring to the Photian Council of 879-880 as the "[[Eighth Ecumenical Council]]."

+

*1848-1920 [[w:Patriarchate of Karlovci|Patriarchate of Karlovci]].

*1850 [[Church of Constantinople]] recognizes [[autocephaly]] of [[Church of Greece]].

*1850 [[Church of Constantinople]] recognizes [[autocephaly]] of [[Church of Greece]].

*1851 Translation into English of [[Septuagint]] by Lancelot C. L. Brenton; Ottoman Empire recognizes France as supreme Christian authority in Holy Land and grants it possession of the [[Church of the Nativity (Bethlehem)|Church of the Nativity]].

*1851 Translation into English of [[Septuagint]] by Lancelot C. L. Brenton; Ottoman Empire recognizes France as supreme Christian authority in Holy Land and grants it possession of the [[Church of the Nativity (Bethlehem)|Church of the Nativity]].

Line 25:

Line 28:

*1853-56 [[w:Crimean War|Crimean War]] fought between Russia and the Ottoman Empire together with Britain and France, beginning over which church would be recognized as the "sovereign authority" of the Christian faith in the Holy Land.

*1853-56 [[w:Crimean War|Crimean War]] fought between Russia and the Ottoman Empire together with Britain and France, beginning over which church would be recognized as the "sovereign authority" of the Christian faith in the Holy Land.

*1856 Pressed by the European powers, the Ottoman Sultan signed the ''[[w:Hatti-Humayun|Hatti-Humayun]]'' reform edict issued after the Crimean War, providing for the re-organization of the millet system, allowing any citizen of the Ottoman Empire to change their creed and be Christian again.

+

*1857 The Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem was officially inaugurated with the recognition of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

+

*1858 The Russian Empire bought the [[w:Russian Compound|Russian Compound]] district in central Jerusalem (outside the walls), to offer Russian pilgrims spiritual supervision, provide assistance, and sponsor charitable and educational work among the Orthodox Arab population of Palestine and Syria.

*1872 Council in Jerusalem declares [[phyletism]] to be [[heresy]]; [[Church of Bulgaria]] gains ''de facto'' [[autocephaly]] by a decree of the Sultan.

+

*1871-78 German [[w:Kulturkampf|Kulturkampf]] against Roman Catholicism.

+

*1872 Council in Jerusalem declares [[phyletism]] to be [[heresy]]; [[Church of Bulgaria]] gains ''de facto'' [[autocephaly]] by a decree of the Sultan; the Holy Trinity Cathedral was built as the center piece of the [[w:Russian Compound|Russian Compound]] in Jerusalem, backed by the ''Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society'' based in St. Petersburg and designed by Russian architect Martin Ivanovich Eppinger in the [[Neo-Byzantine architecture|Neo-Byzantine]] style.

*1873 [[w:Philotheos Bryennios|Philotheos Bryennios]] discovers the ''[[Didache]]'' in manuscript with copies of several early Church documents.

*1873 [[w:Philotheos Bryennios|Philotheos Bryennios]] discovers the ''[[Didache]]'' in manuscript with copies of several early Church documents.

*1875 Uniate diocese of [[w:Chełm|Chelm]] in Poland incorporated into Russian Orthodox Church under Alexander II, with all of the local Uniates converted to Orthodoxy.

*1875 Uniate diocese of [[w:Chełm|Chelm]] in Poland incorporated into Russian Orthodox Church under Alexander II, with all of the local Uniates converted to Orthodoxy.

*1876 [[Theophan the Recluse]] begins issuing a translation of the ''[[Philokalia]]'' in Russian.

*1876 [[Theophan the Recluse]] begins issuing a translation of the ''[[Philokalia]]'' in Russian.

*1879 [[Church of Constantinople]] recognizes [[autocephaly]] of [[Church of Serbia]]; death of [[Innocent of Alaska]]; [[Joseph Julian Overbeck]] journeys to Constantinople to request approval from patriarch for use of Roman liturgy and Benedictine offices.

*1879 [[Church of Constantinople]] recognizes [[autocephaly]] of [[Church of Serbia]]; death of [[Innocent of Alaska]]; [[Joseph Julian Overbeck]] journeys to Constantinople to request approval from patriarch for use of Roman liturgy and Benedictine offices.

*1881 Wave of anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia causes mass migration of Jews (2.5 million Jews settle in the United States, thousands settle in Palestine).

*1881 Wave of anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia causes mass migration of Jews (2.5 million Jews settle in the United States, thousands settle in Palestine).

*1882 Synod of Constantinople gives conditional approval to use of Roman liturgy and Benedictine offices; [[w:Nihilism|Nihilist]] philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche declares ''“God is dead”''; [[Mitrophan Ji]] becomes the first Chinese ordained a priest in the [[Church of China]].

*1882 Synod of Constantinople gives conditional approval to use of Roman liturgy and Benedictine offices; [[w:Nihilism|Nihilist]] philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche declares ''“God is dead”''; [[Mitrophan Ji]] becomes the first Chinese ordained a priest in the [[Church of China]].

−

*1884 ''[[The Way of a Pilgrim]]'' published in Kazan.

+

*1884 ''[[The Way of a Pilgrim]]'' published in Kazan; international Anglican monastic [[w:Order of the Holy Cross|Order of the Holy Cross]] is founded, following the [[Rule of St. Benedict]], best known for publishing the ''[[w:Saint Augustine's Prayer Book|Saint Augustine's Prayer Book]]'' in 1947.

*1885 [[Church of Constantinople]] recognizes [[autocephaly]] of [[Church of Romania]]; [[w:Revised Version|English Revised Version]] published; [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] officially removes all of [[Apocrypha]] from [[w:Authorized King James Version|King James Bible]].

*1885 [[Church of Constantinople]] recognizes [[autocephaly]] of [[Church of Romania]]; [[w:Revised Version|English Revised Version]] published; [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] officially removes all of [[Apocrypha]] from [[w:Authorized King James Version|King James Bible]].

*1886 [[w:Church of Maria Magdalene|Church of Maria Magdalene]] built on slope of Mount of Olives, in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem by Tsar Alexander III.

*1886 [[w:Church of Maria Magdalene|Church of Maria Magdalene]] built on slope of Mount of Olives, in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem by Tsar Alexander III.

Line 60:

Line 69:

*1903 Uncovering of the relics of [[Seraphim of Sarov]].

*1903 Uncovering of the relics of [[Seraphim of Sarov]].

*1904 [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]] publishes the [http://kainh.homestead.com/files/noteptxt.pdf "Patriarchal" Text of the Greek New Testament], based on about twenty Byzantine manuscripts; petition to Russian synod by Abp. [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon (Belavin)]], Bp. [[Raphael of Brooklyn|Raphael (Hawaweeny)]], and Fr. [[John Kochurov]] to permit adaption of services taken from Anglican Book of Common Prayer for use by Orthodox people.

*1904 [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]] publishes the [http://kainh.homestead.com/files/noteptxt.pdf "Patriarchal" Text of the Greek New Testament], based on about twenty Byzantine manuscripts; petition to Russian synod by Abp. [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon (Belavin)]], Bp. [[Raphael of Brooklyn|Raphael (Hawaweeny)]], and Fr. [[John Kochurov]] to permit adaption of services taken from Anglican Book of Common Prayer for use by Orthodox people.

+

*1904-1905 German scholar and sociologist [[w:Max Weber|Max Weber]] published ''[[w:The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism|The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]],'' dealing with the [[w:Sociology of religion|Sociology of religion]] and stressing that particular characteristics of ascetic Protestantism (particularly Calvanism) influenced the development of capitalism, bureaucracy and the rational-legal state in the West.

*1905 Death of [[Apostolos Makrakis]]; Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas Romanov's]] decree on freedom of religion results in about 250,000 [[w:Ruthenians|Ruthenians]] returning to [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Uniatism]]; seat of Russian Orthodox bishop in America moved from San Francisco to New York, as immigration from Eastern Europe and the reception of ex-[[Uniate]]s shifts the balance of Orthodox population to eastern North America.

*1905 Death of [[Apostolos Makrakis]]; Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas Romanov's]] decree on freedom of religion results in about 250,000 [[w:Ruthenians|Ruthenians]] returning to [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Uniatism]]; seat of Russian Orthodox bishop in America moved from San Francisco to New York, as immigration from Eastern Europe and the reception of ex-[[Uniate]]s shifts the balance of Orthodox population to eastern North America.

−

*1907 Archim. [[Eusebius Matthopoulos]] founds [[Brotherhood of Theologians Zoe|Zoe Brotherhood]]; Papal Bull ''Ea Semper'' issued, effectively subordinating Greek Catholic clergy in the United States to local Roman Catholic bishops; Commission on Anglican and Old Catholic Affairs of Russian synod reports in favor of adaptation of services from Book of Common Prayer and sets out criteria; ordination in Constantinople of first black American Orthodox priest, Fr. [[Raphael Morgan]].

*1908 Fr. Nikodemos Sarikas sent to Johannesburg, Transvaal, by Ecumenical Patriarchate as first Orthodox priest there, leaving after a short time for German East Africa (later Tanzania) because of the opposition of Johannesburg Greeks to mission among Africans.

+

*1907 Archim. [[Eusebius Matthopoulos]] founds [[Brotherhood of Theologians Zoe|Zoe Brotherhood]]; Papal Bull ''Ea Semper'' issued, effectively subordinating Greek Catholic clergy in the United States to local Roman Catholic bishops; Commission on Anglican and Old Catholic Affairs of Russian synod reports in favor of adaptation of services from Book of Common Prayer and sets out criteria; ordination in Constantinople of first African-American Orthodox priest, the Very Rev. Fr. [[Raphael Morgan]], ''Priest-Apostolic'' to America and the West Indies.

+

*1908 Fr. [[Nikodemos Sarikas]] sent to Johannesburg, Transvaal, by Ecumenical Patriarchate as first Orthodox priest there, leaving after a short time for German East Africa (later Tanzania) because of the opposition of Johannesburg Greeks to mission among Africans.

*1908 Death of [[John of Kronstadt]].

*1908 Death of [[John of Kronstadt]].

*1910 [[w:1910 World Missionary Conference|Edinburgh Missionary Conference]] is the formal beginning of the modern Protestant Christian ecumenical movement, a precursor to the World Council of Churches.

*1910 [[w:1910 World Missionary Conference|Edinburgh Missionary Conference]] is the formal beginning of the modern Protestant Christian ecumenical movement, a precursor to the World Council of Churches.

−

*1912 Death of [[Nicholas of Japan]].

+

*1912 Death of [[Nicholas of Japan]]; [[Kyriopascha]] occurs.

+

*1913 In a decree on August 27 the [[Church of Russia|Holy Synod of Russia]] declared the Onomatodoxy/[[w:Imiaslavie|Imiaslavie]] movement a heresy.

+

*1914 Martyrdom of Fr. [[Maxim Sandovich]], Protomartyr of the [[w:Lemkos|Lemko]] people; [[w:Christmas truce|Christmas Truce]] between British and German troops stationed along the Western Front during [[Nativity|Christmas]] 1914.

The History of the Church is a vital part of the Orthodox Christian faith. Orthodox Christians are defined significantly by their continuity with all those who have gone before, those who first received and preached the truth of Jesus Christ to the world, those who helped to formulate the expression and worship of our faith, and those who continue to move forward in the unchanging yet ever-dynamic Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church.

1838 Oxford theologian Sir William Palmer was the principal originator of the heretical Branch Theory, in his two-volume Treatise on the Church of Christ.

1839 Synod of Polotsk abolishes Union of Brest-Litovsk in all areas under Russian rule as Greek Catholic dioceses in Lithuania and Belarus re-enter the Orthodox Church (with the exception of the eparchy of Chelm, in Polish territory, which was itself integrated into the Russian Orthodox Church in 1875).

1851 Translation into English of Septuagint by Lancelot C. L. Brenton; Ottoman Empire recognizes France as supreme Christian authority in Holy Land and grants it possession of the Church of the Nativity.

1853-56 Crimean War fought between Russia and the Ottoman Empire together with Britain and France, beginning over which church would be recognized as the "sovereign authority" of the Christian faith in the Holy Land.

1856 Pressed by the European powers, the Ottoman Sultan signed the Hatti-Humayun reform edict issued after the Crimean War, providing for the re-organization of the millet system, allowing any citizen of the Ottoman Empire to change their creed and be Christian again.

1857 The Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem was officially inaugurated with the recognition of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

1858 The Russian Empire bought the Russian Compound district in central Jerusalem (outside the walls), to offer Russian pilgrims spiritual supervision, provide assistance, and sponsor charitable and educational work among the Orthodox Arab population of Palestine and Syria.

1870 Papal Infallibility declared Roman Catholic dogma necessary for salvation by First Vatican Council; Papal States cease to exist; Old Catholic schism occurs; Old Catholics openly courted by Russian church in France and Germany.

1872 Council in Jerusalem declares phyletism to be heresy; Church of Bulgaria gains de factoautocephaly by a decree of the Sultan; the Holy Trinity Cathedral was built as the center piece of the Russian Compound in Jerusalem, backed by the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society based in St. Petersburg and designed by Russian architect Martin Ivanovich Eppinger in the Neo-Byzantine style.

1881 Wave of anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia causes mass migration of Jews (2.5 million Jews settle in the United States, thousands settle in Palestine).

1882 Synod of Constantinople gives conditional approval to use of Roman liturgy and Benedictine offices; Nihilist philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche declares “God is dead”; Mitrophan Ji becomes the first Chinese ordained a priest in the Church of China.

1886 Church of Maria Magdalene built on slope of Mount of Olives, in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem by Tsar Alexander III.

1888 Typikon of the Great Church of Christ is published with revised church services, prepared by Protopsaltis George Violakis, issued with the approval and blessing of the Ecumenical Patriarch, while the Sabaite (monastic) Typikon continues to be used in Russia.

1894 Praeclara Gratulationis Publicae (on the Reunion of Christendom), an Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on June 20, called for the reunion of Eastern and Western churches into the "Unity of the Faith", while also condemning Freemasonry; criticized by Ecumenical Patriarch Anthimus VII in 1895.

1896-1906 Oxyrhynchus papyri discovered in Egypt dating from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, including portions of the New Testament.

1898 Last ethnically Greek patriarch of Antioch deposed; Western Rite diocese organized in Czechoslovakia by Church of Russia; Russia established a missionary station in Urmia, Iran, resulting in a group of Nestorians, headed by a bishop, being received into the communion of the Russian Orthodox Church.

1905 Death of Apostolos Makrakis; Tsar Nicholas Romanov's decree on freedom of religion results in about 250,000 Ruthenians returning to Uniatism; seat of Russian Orthodox bishop in America moved from San Francisco to New York, as immigration from Eastern Europe and the reception of ex-Uniates shifts the balance of Orthodox population to eastern North America.

1907 Archim. Eusebius Matthopoulos founds Zoe Brotherhood; Papal Bull Ea Semper issued, effectively subordinating Greek Catholic clergy in the United States to local Roman Catholic bishops; Commission on Anglican and Old Catholic Affairs of Russian synod reports in favor of adaptation of services from Book of Common Prayer and sets out criteria; ordination in Constantinople of first African-American Orthodox priest, the Very Rev. Fr. Raphael Morgan, Priest-Apostolic to America and the West Indies.

1908 Fr. Nikodemos Sarikas sent to Johannesburg, Transvaal, by Ecumenical Patriarchate as first Orthodox priest there, leaving after a short time for German East Africa (later Tanzania) because of the opposition of Johannesburg Greeks to mission among Africans.

Notes

Some of these dates are necessarily a bit vague, as records for some periods are particularly difficult to piece together accurately.

The division of Church History into separate eras as done here will always be to some extent arbitrary, though it was attempted to group periods according to major watershed events.

This timeline is necessarily biased toward the history of the Orthodox Church, though a number of non-Orthodox or purely political events are mentioned for their importance in history related to Orthodoxy or for reference.